" With the work (h-b-) finished, we can return home" In using the ABLATIVE, the Romans probably came to the same idea that we have in adding the word "WITH" to the words. So, what CASE could be used for them? It was impossible to use most of the cases in the normal way: these words were not the Subject or the Object, so couldn't be Nom or Acc nor did they mean "of.", "to…" or "for…" - and they certainly weren't being spoken to! So, similar ideas to the examples above had to be phrased in a Passive way:Īs a result, these expressions ended up forming a separate section of the sentence, unrelated to the main clause. Their Past Participle is always PASSIVE (apart from those of Deponent verbs - more on that later),and so always means: "having BEEN heard", "having BEEN finished", etc. In Latin, however, they had no equivalent ACTIVE PAST PARTICIPLE. "Having finished the work, we can return home". "Having heard the news, everyone rushed into the street" In English, for example, we may often say things like: This is because their language is limited in what it can say by having far fewer of them than we do in English. The Ablative Absolute is one of the most common uses of a participle in Latin. Go on, you know you want to read it really! For the good of your soul, read on - otherwise click here, and wonder eternally what you've missed…. If you lack the courage, you could go straight to the Practice Sentences by clicking here ….! If you want to find out a bit more about why Ablative Absolutes are so common - and essential - in Latin, click here! You are unlikely to meet many Future Participle Ablative Absolutes. Or: "Since my friends were about to arrive, ……." "When the general was about to leave the camp, ……." …which could be re-phrased into things like: You may then want to re-phrase it using a conjunction such as "While", "When" or "Since": "With the guards sleeping, Odysseus captured the horses" CUSTODIBUS DORMIENTIBUS, ULIXES EQUOS CEPIT Generally just check that what you have written in English MAKES SENSE!Į.g. "Since their city HAD BEEN captured, the citizens fled". In sentences like this, the best way is to KEEP THE IDEA OF THE ABL. This makes it sound as though they captured their own city - rather unlikely! Or: "When they had captured the city, the citizens fled" You can't say: "Having captured the city, the citizens fled" Or: When they had captured the city, ………." to say: "Having captured the city, the enemy killed the citizens" Not every one of these versions will necessarily work every time consider these examples: "The enemy captured the city AND destroyed the temples". "When/Since they had captured the city, the enemy…." "With the city h-b-captured, the enemy destroyed the temples." Step 3: Improve the English, using the various ways already familiar from other Participle uses.Į.g. "With the noun h-b-verbed, SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED." Step 2: Check that the rest of the sentence makes sense ON ITS OWN: Step 1: Turn the words into the following literal 'formula':
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